Take My Hand
by Delilah Noir
Summary: "Are we in still Soul Society?" "Most likely in the outer Rukon districts," Zangetsu says calmly. She nods. "Yeah, but how did we get here? Zangetsu sighs. "While I'm not sure, I suspect the hogyoku's involvement." "Fuckin' marble," Shiro grumbles. Au canon divergence, de-aging, Fem!Ichigo, kid fic, time travel
1. Waking in Rukon

I apologize for the summary, but these things are such a pain.

 _Take My Hand_ was inspired by _Operation: Big Brother_ by Sariniste on ff . net and _Swinging Pendulum_ by Cywscross on Ao3, if you haven't read them you should totally go do that. Like now. And then come back here and cry with me since neither of them are finished.

This fic takes place during the Deicide arc, just before Ichigo uses the Final Getsuga. I'm ignoring the arcs that come after that, so there will be no Fullbringers or Quincy war here. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

She's not sure if it's the quiet or the lack of any reiatsu around her that wakes her, but Ichigo can tell she's not where she last remembers being before she even opens her eyes. Her body feels like one giant bruise, sore down to her bones, and when she tries to sit up too fast she's hit with a wave of vertigo that sends her back to the ground.

She breathes through the feeling, trying to settle her stomach as the world spins around her. When she no longer feels like she'll throw up she tries to sit up again, slower this time. Once she's up she notices a distinct lack of sword anywhere on her person and that her normal shinigami garb has been replaced for a plain white yukata.

There's a split second of panic before Ichigo notices her zanpakuto laying beside her, wrapped neatly in its bandage sheath in Shikai form. She takes another breath as she calms down, wrapping her fingers around the hilt helps even though she still feels too weak to stand.

Her eyes close as she reaches for her inner spirits, getting tired acknowledgment from both of them. Their presence helps her relax further. Her reiatsu may be dangerously low but she still has her sword and that, more than anything else, settles her nerves.

Opening her eyes, Ichigo finally takes the time to look around and finds herself in a forest clearing. The grass around her looks scorched and some of the trees that are closer to her look worse for ware.

She glances down at herself looking for injuries, but finds none, the white cloth of the yukata she's in isn't even dirty. She's sore and she's weak, but other than that she seems to be fine. Odd considering the last thing she remembers is the fight against Aizen.

"Where the hell are we?"

" _We're in a fuckin' forest, what does it look like dumbass."_ Shiro remarks snidely.

Ichigo rolls her eyes, ignoring him in favor of looking around some more. It's quiet in a peaceful way and she can't sense anyone else around her, but there's a familiar thick quality to the air.

"Are we in still Soul Society?"

" _Most likely in the outer Rukon districts,"_ Zangetsu says calmly.

She nods. "Yeah, but how did we get here?"

Zangetsu sighs. " _While I'm not sure, I suspect the hogyoku's involvement."_

" _Fuckin' marble,"_ Shiro grumbles.

Ichigo sighs as well, that thing has big a bigger pain in her ass than anything else she can remember. She promises herself, as she pulls to her feet, that if she ever sees that stupid little overpowered marble again she'll find a way to destroy it.

She dusts herself off and settles her zanpakuto on her back when she gets to her feet, easily adjusting to the familiar weight. She looks around the clearing again, at a loss as to what to do.

The sudden snap of a twig, loud in the pervasive quiet, makes her tense, her hand back on her zanpakuto. A loud roar follows as a low level hollow jumps out at her, bone jaw open wide and claws extended. It takes almost no effort on Ichigo's part to kill it, smoothly slicing the hollow in half before it even reaches her. Zangetsu is back in its bandage sheath and on her back again as the hollow's corpse hits the ground.

She watches idly as it starts to dissolve. "I guess we should get going huh?" She says, more to herself than anything else.

Just as she's about to step into shunpo, having picked a random direction to start moving in, she hears a cry in the forest. It's something nearby but out of sight, and she's not sure, but it almost sounds like a small child. What would a kid be doing this far out in the woods?

Ichigo's hand unconsciously moves back to Zangetsu's hilt as she starts moving closer to the sound. It's not long before she finds it, a little ways behind the tree line there's a little white bundle on the forest floor. It squirms and cries as she gets close enough to see that it's a baby.

Her hand falls from her zanpakuto and she crouches down to get a better look at them. The baby is a cute little thing, maybe six months old with fluffy brown hair and big teary eyes the same color, and they go quiet as they see her. A soft smile curves her lips as she looks at the baby and she reaches her hand down to touch them.

She freezes as her fingers brush the cloth the baby's wrapped in, sensing a distinct and terrifyingly familiar reiatsu.

Aizen.

Jerking away, Ichigo's eyes go wide as she looks at him, halfway drawing her sword in an instinctive move to defend. What the hell is this?

Shiro roars in anger, his dual toned voice resonating in her ears. " _The fuck are ya waitin' for! Kill 'im!"_

She doesn't respond, eyes still locked on the small form on the ground. Zangetsu remains quiet.

" _It's a fuckin' trick! Kill 'im! Now!"_

Again, she ignores him, frantically trying to figure out what to do. Fuck! What's she supposed to do about this? She doesn't know how the hell this happened, much less how to deal with it! Shiro might be right, this could be a trap or a diversion to keep her occupied while Aizen destroys Karakura, and if that's the case then she doesn't have time to waste.

She can feel Shiro's vicious satisfaction.

Ichigo takes a deep breath and tightens her grip on her zanpakuto, the bandage sheath fluttering as she draws it fully, resting it at her side. Regardless of whether this is a trap or not, Ichigo knows what she should do. She knows what this man has done, the things he's put her friends through, the things he put _her_ through, and she should kill him.

No matter what he looks like at the moment.

Ichigo hardens her heart and glares at Aizen in determination, approaching him again. She raises her zanpakuto directly above him, positioned to strike dead center in his chest, a strike that such a small body would never survive.

She tries to swallow the unease that comes from what she's about to do, the distaste that lies thick on the back of her tongue, but she's not entirely successful. The sight of him, small and helpless and so _so_ young, brings back hazy memories of her sisters. The association is hard to shake and it churns her stomach.

" _What are ya waitin' for! Fuckin' kill 'im already!"_

Her shoulders tense, raising her zanpakuto just a hair more, and she takes a fortifying breath. Ichigo looks at him, refuses to turn away from what she must do, she will not hide from what is right. She brings her sword down.

But then, he does something that makes her freeze, zanpakuto a hair's breadth from his chest. Something she _never_ thought she'd see from him.

He smiled, wide and sweet and _innocent_.

It was an expression she'd never seen him make. She'd seen Aizen smile, but it was always with malicious intent, taunting, gloating looks that frightened her more than anything. She'd had more than one nightmare about it, watching as he slaughtered her friends all while wearing that same condescending look.

None of those smiles ever reached his eyes, none of those smiles were ever _real_. This was. He looked almost exactly like Yuzu and Karin did when they were little, when they were helpless. That image, one or both of her little sisters lying there instead, crushes her resolve.

She cannot do this.

Shiro rages at her as she puts her zanpakuto away, the bandage sheath quietly wrapping back around it, and crouches down again.

" _What the fuck are you doing!?"_

Ichigo ignores him.

Zangetsu is still silent.

When she reaches for Aizen again, she notices something she hadn't before, Aizen's reiatsu was low. _Extremely_ low. Low enough that even when she was touching him she could barely feel it. It was unsettling.

Since she'd met him, introduced to the wrong side of Kyouka Suigetsu, his spiritual energy had always been enormous. As she'd steadily caught up to him it'd been less so, but always substantial. What she could feel from him now was more like a single drop of water compared to a vast ocean.

If this was Aizen's doing, why would he make himself look so weak?

The question bounces around in her mind as she gathers him up, tucking the white cloth more firmly around him as she settles him into the crook of her arm, but it still leaves her baffled. From what she knew about him, appearing weak would never had been something he'd do, it probably wouldn't have even occurred to him that he could. Something like this would have been completely out of character for someone as arrogant as Aizen.

A glint of the light caught her eye as she stood and she looked down at Aizen. Tucked in the cloth around him was a small familiar little marble. She scowled as she saw it, plucking it away from him, and held it up for closer inspection.

It looked… odd. Ichigo had seen it up close before, embedded in Aizen's chest, but for some reason it looked different. It glittered as she turned it in the light but there was none of that unearthly glow she'd associated with the hogyoku, no swirling array of colors like trapped smoke.

It looked just like a regular marble.

What the hell?

Sighing Ichigo tucked it back into Aizen's cloth. There was nothing to do about it at the moment, she'd talk to Urahara about it once she got back to Seireitei.

Soft babbling brought her attention back to the baby in her arms, he smiled at her when she looked at him, that same soft, sweet smile from before, and it brought an answering curve to her lips. He waved his little fists around, still babbling at her, and her heart melted.

Like this there was no resemblance to the cruel, cold, lonely man she'd fought.

She waved one of her fingers in front of his eyes, watching as he giggled and reached for it, and let him catch it. He promptly stuck it in his mouth, just like a normal child. It startled a laugh out if her.

Who would ever believe that this was the man that had tried to tear Soul Society apart?

With that thought, she could feel Shiro's anger cool, even he wasn't keen on killing a baby. He didn't like it, but he'd live with it.

From Zangetsu she got a faint feeling of approval.

As Ichigo stood there she came to a decision. She'd keep him with her til this could be figured out and they'd go from there. Which meant that for the moment she was stuck with an infant.

She tugged her hand away and tucked him more firmly in the crook of her arm, making sure Aizen was secure, before she turned back the way she'd chosen earlier. With that she stepped into a short shunpo, looking down at Aizen again once she'd stepped out of it, checking him over for damage. He looked around curiously but didn't seem any worse for ware.

She nodded, looks like it'd be fine to shunpo with him in that case, and steps into a longer one. The forest blurs around them as she takes off, wind whistling in her ears and they move quickly, leaving the clearing far behind.

The forest was massive, and even as she moved so quickly very little changed. Ichigo continued the same way for hours and only managed to find a few hollows. Honestly she was getting sick of all the trees.

It was late in the afternoon when she finally found something. At first she couldn't really tell what it was, but as she got closer she could see a few shacks, possibly a village.

She sighed in relief as she saw it, glancing down at Aizen. "Hopefully we'll be able to figure this out soon." One more Step and she was in the village.

The sight of it up close was startling, while it was a welcome change from the monotony of the forest, everything in the near vicinity looked like a stiff wind might blow it over.

Of the few buildings standing only one or two looked even marginally habitable, several tilted dangerously to one side, built of rotting wood and missing sections of the roof. She couldn't see many people, but those she could looked just as bad as the shacks, dressed in ragged, filthy clothing.

Ichigo had heard about the conditions in the Rukon, but she'd never imagined it was _this_ bad. There was an air of resignation that hung heavy here. She could see it reflected in the eyes of those she passed by. What was this place?

" _The outer districts are some of the most dangerous, most don't survive here. Your short friend talked about this, don't you remember?"_

She shook her head, eying a man sitting on the ground near one of the shacks.

Shiro scoffed. " _Fuckin' weaklings, all of 'em, who gives a shit what happens to 'em."_

She glares at him mentally, but he just returns it, totally unrepentant.

Zangetsu sighs at them. " _Now is not the time for this. We should be moving Ichigo."_

They both quit at the reproach. Ichigo looks down at Aizen again, watching him look around curiously for a few moments, before tucking him more firmly in the crook of her arm and approaching the man she'd been watching.

"Hey old man, can you tell me where this place is?" He looks at her suspiciously, fiddling with the block of wood in his hand, and doesn't reply. Her eyes narrow. "Hey! Old man, can-"

He cuts her off. "'M not deaf, can hear ya jus' fine."

She stares at him expectantly and he just stares back. "Well?" She asks impatiently.

"Well what?" He asks, imperiously raising one of his eyebrows.

Ichigo sighs in frustration. "Can you tell me where I am or not?"

"64th Western Rukon district."

"Thanks," She says, clipped, before she starts walking away.

She doesn't get very far before he calls out to her again. "If I were ya, I'd get rid of the dead weight."

She stops walking and turns to face the man again, eyes narrowed in a glare. "And what does that mean?"

He waves his hand toward Aizen. "That's not gonna do anything but slow ya down. Best be gettin' rid of it before ya get ya self in trouble."

Ichigo's expression darkened. "Thanks for the _advice_ ," she hisses. "But I think I'll take my chances." Then she turned and stormed away, leaving that dump of a town and the old man behind.

Once she hits the treeline she takes off in a flit of furious shunpo, headed east and hopefully towards Seireitei, her fit of temper making her a little reckless. She stumbles on several hollows as she moves, low level wretches that take her almost no effort to dispatch, and they only serve to irritate her further.

"Mother _fucker!_ " She curses as she nearly trips over another hollow. "Where the hell are these pieces of shit _coming_ from?" Ichigo swings Zangetsu, cleanly slicing through the bug like mask of the hollow and glaring at it in frustration.

" _Your reiatsu is in flux. You need to calm down Ichigo."_ Zangetsu's normal monotone grates on her further and her grip on her zanpakuto tightens.

Shiro snickers. " _She's jus' mad that tha old man could see right through 'er. Had no problem tellin' 'er to drop 'im like a sack a' taters. It's fuckin' hilarious."_ He laughs mockingly.

"Shut the _fuck_ up Shiro!" She snarls.

" _Make me."_

She opens her mouth to snap at him, but a small cry brings her up short. Ichigo looks down, Aizen looks back at her, eyes bright with tears. She stares at him for a moment, stunned.

She's made him cry.

Ichigo had made _Aizen_ cry. What the hell is her life?

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, forcing herself to relax and sheath her zanpakuto. When she's gotten her temper back under control she looks at Aizen again. His eyes are still glassy and his breath hiccups in his chest, but he doesn't look like he'll start screaming soon.

Sighing, she brushes a stray lock of hair back from his face. "Sorry," She murmurs. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Her soft tone soothes him and he settles back in her arms. Warmth curls in her chest as she watches him, like this Aizen is honestly quite… cute. She sighs adjusts him in her arms, making sure he's secure, before taking off again in shunpo.

They travel for hours, till the sun starts to set, before Ichigo decides to find a place to rest for the night. She's lucky enough to find a hollowed log that looks big enough to fit both her and her zanpakuto, and she pulls Zangetsu off her back, lying it on the ground before carefully sliding in herself.

She settles Aizen on her chest, trying to make sure he won't fall before she lets her arm fall. Rolling her shoulder as best she can in the small space, she sighs in relief. He might not weigh much but holding him in her arms for hours has definitely made her a little sore.

Aizen babbles at her and kicks his feet a little, looking around with interest. She chuckles as he wiggles around, stroking a hand down his back and lying the other on Zangetsu's hilt. He settles easily enough after that, soothed by her gentle hands, and soon his breathing evens out as he falls asleep.

"I think now would be a good time to figure out an actual plan." She murmurs as she watches Aizen sleep.

" _That's wise."_

She sighs, eyes closed as she tries to relax. "Once we get back I'm going straight to Urahara. That damned hat 'n clogs'll get a piece of my mind if this was part of his plan."

" _What, not takin' the little shit t' tha fuckin' clown?"_ Shiro jeers.

She shudders at the thought. "Never. Doesn't matter if this is only temporary or not, I'd never wish that creepy fuck on anyone."

" _You very well may not have a choice. You know what the Gotei 13 is like, they'll demand you release him to them."_

Ichigo's eyes snap open. " _No,_ " She hisses, louder than she'd meant to as Aizen stirs, and she sets her hand lightly on his back. "No. The one thing I'm sure of is that this is a normal child. Aizen would _never_ make himself look this vulnerable."

Zangetsu sighs. " _I agree, but that won't stop them."_

"Then they'll have to go through me."

Shiro scoffs. " _Too fuckin' noble for yer own good."_

"Fuck off Shiro." She says without any heat.

" _Rest Ichigo. In the morning we'll continue heading to Seireitei."_

Her jaw cracks on a yawn. "Yeah. 'Night." She settles further into her bed of dead leaves and shuts her eyes. The events of the day finally catch up to her and she slips easily into sleep.

* * *

Ichigo's rudely awoken by a growl and loud crash, reacting without thinking she brings Zangetsu up in defense, clutching at the weight on her chest. She's still half asleep when she shunpos away, glaring blearily at the snake-like hollow perched over the broken log she used for shelter.

With a huff she swings her zanpakuto, sending a nameless Getsuga at it. Even with minimal power the beam of compressed reiatsu is fast. Faster than the hollow. Before it can dodge her attack collides with it, splitting open its chest and destroying its mask, and it screams as it falls to the ground.

As soon as she's sure it's no longer a threat she sheaths Zangetsu and yawns. What is it with attacking her while she's asleep?

" _You've recovered more of your reiatsu which is drawing more attention to you."_ Says Zangetsu, sounding faintly amused.

"Don't care, shoulda left me alone." She grumbles.

A loud wail startles her and she quickly looks down. Aizen, teary eyed and mouth open in a wail, cries against her chest. The hollow attack must've scared him awake.

Ichigo smooths a hand down his back. "Hey now," She says softly, "No need for that." She rubs soothing circles into his back, trying to calm him.

" _Noisy little fucker,"_ Shiro grumbles. " _Can't you shut 'im up?"_

Ichigo clenches her jaw to keep herself from snapping at Shiro. She takes a deep breath before she answers, forcing her tone gentle. "Would you like to deal with him?"

Calmly, she keeps stroking Aizen's back, bouncing him a bit, and slowly his wailing trails into little distressed hiccups. She smiles at him despite herself as he calms down. Eventually he smiles back.

" _We should be going Ichigo."_ Says Zangetsu. " _You'll only attract more attention if we stay."_

" _It ain't like we can't take 'em."_ Shiro jeers.

"Do you want him to cry again?" Ichigo asks. She doesn't wait for a reply as she tucks Aizen firmly against her chest.

She turns to the east where the sun is just starting to climb over the horizon and takes off in a flit of shunpo. Hopefully they'll reach Seireitei before nightfall.

* * *

For clarification, I'm picturing Ichigo at about the strength of an unseated officer here, which for Ichigo is _very_ low. But she can still use shunpo and take out minor hollows without issue.

Please leave a review to let me know what you thought! And come say hi on tumblr at delilahnoir!


	2. Something Strange in Seireitei

What's this? An update and it hasn't been over a year? Blasphemy!

Yeah, so surprise. I actually had a pretty easy time with this chapter and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy!

Also, thank you so much to everyone that left reviews on the last chapter, y'all make my day!

* * *

Ichigo had severely underestimated the sheer size of soul society.

It's been days of her just running as fast as she can while not in bankai, and it barely feels like she's gotten anywhere. She's passed a few more villages here and there, each one progressively better looking than the last, but she made sure to avoid them. She wasn't very keen on dealing with anyone else after that old man.

At night she would stop to rest only to get back up and continue on at dawn the next day. Her white yukata had long since been stained with dirt and grass and whatever else she'd managed to encounter in the forest. It took nearly a week for her to get anywhere near Seireitei, and when she finally made it to the innermost rukon district she sighed in relief.

 _"Fuckin' finally,"_ groused Shiro. _"Been gettin' real fuckin' sick of trees."_

Ichigo ignores him as she slows to a walk, absently adjusting Aizen in her arms. Looking around, she's sure that this district is far wealthier than a lot of the others she'd passed through. All the buildings here look well built and sturdy, if a little mismatched. The people here move about with a lively, happy air, milling around a well stocked market. Further up the street she can see a group of children running and laughing, wearing brightly colored yukata and sandals.

It's a far cry from the desolation she'd seen in the outer districts.

She follows the main road, passing several stalls lined with anything from pretty trinkets to food. The smell catches her nose and reminds her that it's been a while since she's had anything to eat, but she pushes the feeling away. Ichigo has more important things to deal with than a little hunger.

Eventually she can see Seireitei, she's still a few good shunpo away, but the distinction between it and the Rukon is striking. She can see where the packed dirt streets she's on give way to neat cobblestone roads. Even at the distance she's at she can tell that the buildings are all the same uniform, pristine white.

Ichigo scowls at it. The obvious difference in quality churns her stomach. Is it really a wonder that so many residents of the Rukon districts seem to resent Seireitei?

Zangetsu sighs. _"Now is not the time to worry about this Ichigo. We need to get into Seireitei."_

She grits her teeth. "I know."

It doesn't mean that she has to like it.

She shunpos forward, bringing her far closer to the edge of Seireitei before she slows to a walk again. She continues at a leisurely pace, figuring that someone would be heading to her sooner rather than later. The howl of displaced air catches her by surprise and she jumps back reflexively.

Massive walls crash down in front of her, one after another, and send up clouds of dust. Ichigo sputters and coughs, waving one of her hands to try and clear the air. When she doesn't feel like she's choking on dust she glances down at Aizen. He looks around curiously but otherwise doesn't seemed too bothered.

She turns to the walls and is struck with a sense of deja vu. It's been a while since she's seen them, but they were hard to forget, considering everything that happened the first time she was in soul society. But why would they crash down on her now?

"Heh heh, it's been a while since someone's tried to cross the gate without a travel pass," booms a familiar voice. "And I haven't had many guests these days, so welcome to you young lady."

She turns to face him, head cocked to the side. "Jidanbo?"

When the dust finally settles she gets a clear look at him. That's definitely Jidanbo, but he looks… different. For one thing, he's wearing his shihakusho normally, the top half covering both of his arms. His fez is missing too.

He smiles at her. "Ah, so it seems you've heard of me. Then you must know that it's my sworn duty to defend this gate from intruders."

"Uh, yeah? At least I think that's what you told me last time I was here."

"Last time you were here?" He asks, "I'm afraid that we have never met. I'd remember meeting someone with hair like that."

Ichigo's eye twitches as Shiro cackles. "Excuse me?"

"I said that you were mistaken, young lady. We have never met."

"Yeah, I got that part," She snaps, "What I don't get is what kind of joke you're trying to make here, asshole."

Jidanbo's brow furrows. "A young lady should not use language like that."

"Young lady my ass! Where was this bull when you fought me?"

He looks confused at that "Fought you?" He laughs, "Why would a warrior like me fight a helpless woman?" Jidanbo shakes his head, "No that would be the greatest dishonor as a man."

Helpless? Ichigo's eyes narrow, irritation starting to become anger. "You need to knock this off Jidanbo, it's not funny!"

"I do not know what you think is going on, however, I will not allow you to pass through this gate," He turns away from her, heading back to the gate. Glancing back at her he sighs, "It's a shame that you were not stronger, I would not have minded a good fight."

She opens her mouth to snap something at him, one hand itching for her zanpakuto, but Zangetsu stops her. _"Leave it Ichigo. Arguing with him will get us nowhere, go back to one of the shops you saw in town."_

With a frustrated huff she turns on her heel and marches back into town. "What the _hell_ was that?" She mutters darkly, making some passerby glance at her nervously. "Stupid giant."

 _"I say we head back there and fuck 'im up, helpless my ass!"_ Shiro snarls.

 _"No,"_ Zangetsu says.

 _"What, ya got a better fuckin' idea?"_

Zangetsu ignores him. _"Something is not right here. Ichigo, do you remember the last time something like this happened?"_

Ichigo stops walking as she thinks about it. The last time? What was Zangetsu talking about? All she could think of was that thing that happened with Rukia a while ago. "You mean those two hollows that could mess with memories?"

 _"Yes."_

"You think they have something to do with this?"

 _"Perhaps. I do not think we should overlook the possibility of something similar."_

She sighs, carding a hand through her hair. "So now what?"

 _"Our plans have not changed, we still need to get to Urahara and find out what he knows."_

"Which means we still need to get into Seireitei."

 _"Yes."_

She starts walking again. "Okay, so we're going over the wall again? Jidanbo's sure as hell not letting us in."

Zangetsu hums, considering. _"While I agree, I do not think going over the wall is wise."_

"Why not?"

 _"If you will remember, we previously had use of Kukaku's cannon to get through the barrier to Seireitei."_

 _"So fuckin' what?"_ Shiro growls, _"We got through that shit jus' fine then, we can get through it now."_

Zangetsu is silent for a moment and Ichigo gets a faint sense of irritation from him. _"While we are stronger now and it might not be dangerous for_ us _, we cannot guarantee Aizen's safety."_

Shiro barks out a laugh. _"Then fuckin' good riddance! We don' need 'im anyway, let tha lil bastard kick tha bucket."_

Her jaw clenches. "We've gone over this. We _can't._ "

 _"No,_ you _can't. I'd fuck 'im up in a second if ya let me."_

 _"Enough!"_ Zangetsu's raised voice stops her up short. _"Ichigo is correct. Aizen and the hogyoku are connected to this, and as such must_ both _be taken to Urahara. We cannot allow either of them to be damaged."_

Shiro grumbles but subsides. She sucks in a breath, holding it for a moment before letting it go. "So do you have a plan?"

" _I do. We will wait till the wall recedes and you will slip under it before it can close again."_

"Are we fast enough for that?"

 _"Yes."_

Ichigo shrugs. "Alright."

She gets to an empty stoop, attached to a house that looks older and unused, and sits down, leaning her zanpakuto next to her. She settles Aizen in her lap and looks him over. There's a spot of dirt on one of his cheeks and his hair is a tousled mess, but he looks fine. She takes a clean corner of his blanket and wipes at the dirt smear. His nose scrunches and he tries to turn his head away.

Ichigo snorts, poking Aizen's nose and making him blink up at her. "Honestly, this shit is still weird." She tells him. He giggles, babbling back at her. It makes her smile.

She settles in for a long wait and starts watching the people around her to pass the time. They mill about calmly, peacefully. People smile at each other as they pass, a quick nod to show respect. Life here seems easy.

It's a while before the walls surrounding Seireitei finally start to rise, sometime around mid afternoon. She'd been keeping an eye out for it, but it's not like she could miss it. Massive sheets of seki seki slowly rising toward the sky aren't exactly subtle.

They aren't moving very fast so she sets off at a walk, swinging Zangetsu on her back and tucking Aizen in her arms. "How close should we get?"

 _"They did not fall until you were near the edge of Seireitei."_

Ichigo hums thoughtfully. "So just on the outskirts?"

 _"Step into shunpo once you are away from the buildings. That should be plenty close enough."_

Shiro scoffs. _"Fuck that, why ain't we runnin' now?"_

 _"I would_ prefer _, "_ Zangetsu says, pointedly. _"That Ichigo leave more time for the gates to rise. I am confident that we can get through, however, the higher the walls are the better."_

Shiro huffs, but doesn't argue. Honestly that's about all Ichigo could ask for at this point. She keeps an eye on the walls as she walks, continuing their steady ascent even as she gets closer. By the time she's on the outskirts of town again she can hardly see them.

Ichigo stops about a hundred feet away from the edge of Seireitei, plenty close enough. She shunpos, once, twice and she's inside. The walls slam back down behind her almost ten full seconds after her feet touch back on the ground. They seem almost delayed.

Over her shoulder Ichigo looks back at the walls. While she trusted Zangetsu, wholey and implicitly, she hadn't been expecting to make it past them so easily. About a year ago she never would've managed. It really is quite scary how quickly she improves.

Ichigo chuckles.

Urahara was right.

Approaching footsteps bring her attention back to her surroundings, shinigami are on their way. She can't sense anyone she knows, or even anyone particularly strong, so it's probably just a patrol. Still, last time something like this happened everyone tried to attack. Better to keep out of sight this time.

Ichigo steps into another shunpo, landing on a nearby rooftop. From there she can see more of the Seireitei over the uniform walls, allowing her to get her bearings. It's not much help, since even then she has no idea where she is.

Seireitei is fucking huge.

Objectively she knew this, she's been here often enough, but in practice it's more than a little daunting. It's made worse since there's no one with her to help navigate. Honestly she has no idea how to find someone in all this.

 _"Urahara's reiatsu signature."_

Ichigo cocks her head. "You want me to track him down that way?"

Zangetsu sighs. _"You have been around the shopkeeper many times Ichigo, you should know his signature well enough to track it down."_

She shrugs. "You know I've never been great at that. It'll probably take too long anyway."

 _"Try."_

Ichigo sighs, shutting her eyes as she concentrates. She stretches her senses out across Seireitei, searching for a familiar reiatsu signature. It takes her a moment but she finds him.

He's further inside Seireitei, closer to the center, and he's not alone either. There are other captains with him. Ichigo hesitates for a moment, Urahara's reiatsu feels… off somehow. She can't really place it, but it's different from what she remembers.

She shrugs it off, he probably made something that's making his reiatsu weird, the man was a scientist after all. There's not much she can do about it here anyway. With Urahara found she steps into shunpo again and starts making her way toward him. Keeping to the rooftops for ease of navigation.

It doesn't take her long to get as close as she can while running on the roof. She drops to the ground and continues on foot, walking toward the huge hall she sensed his reiatsu in. It's vaguely familiar so Ichigo's pretty sure that she's been here before.

Before she can get to the two massive doors to the hall she's stopped by a pair of guards that she hadn't noticed, path blocked by their crossed pikes.

"Halt!" The one on the right calls, glaring at her, "There is a captain's meeting in progress, no one is allowed to enter."

"But this is urgent." She says.

The guard glares at her harder. "No one is permitted entry while a meeting is in progress without the proper permissions. If this is such an emergency, where is your jigokucho?"

Ichigo sighs. "Look, I don't have one but I need to speak with the captains."

"No jigokucho, no entry." He puffs out his chest, not moving his pike. "Get lost girl."

Her jaw clenches. She forces herself to take a breath, trying to keep in mind that they're just doing their jobs. Doesn't mean he has to be such a dick though. "Fine, have it your way."

With a single shunpo she moves past them, disappearing from their view and making them shout. She kicks the doors to the hall open with a smug smirk on her face. Serves them right.

She darts inside, ignoring the noisy guards behind her and moving toward the captains standing neatly in their lines on either side of the hall. But she draws up short when she realizes that the faces staring back at her are different.

The Captain Commander stands at the back of the hall, as usual, and he's not the only one there that she's familiar with as a captain. Unohana, that Kyoraku guy, and the white haired captain, the one that's sickly, are there too. But the others are different.

Several she recognizes as Visored; Hirako, Rose, Love, and Kensei are there, but they look different. For one Hirako is sporting an extremely long bob that looks _terrible_. Yoruichi and Urahara are there with them too.

People she's expecting are missing, Toshiro and Byakuya are nowhere in sight. Instead, there's an empty spot where the short captain stands and an old man who looks vaguely like Byakuya in their place. The clown guy is missing too.

Ichigo takes this all in, baffled by the changes. Did they just up and decide to reassign captaincies while she was gone?

"Gramps, what the fuck?" She asks, incredulous.

Her outburst seems to snap them out of their own stupor and Yamamoto slams his staff down. "Capture that Ryoka!"

A split second after his order, Ichigo sees Yoruichi blur, gone from her position nearest to Yamamoto. She's suddenly behind Ichigo, quick as a flash, and Ichigo only narrowly avoids a blow to the back of her head.

She comes at Ichigo again, aiming a kick to her knees, but Ichigo dodges her again. She jumps back but is brought up short by a sword at her back. Her own hand rests on Zangetsu where she'd instinctively guarded herself. Glancing back she sees the old guy that looks like Byakuya, but she's quickly distracted by Yoruichi coming at her again.

She ducks under the punch Yoruichi aims at her and shunpos away, landing next to Kensei. Turning to him, she tries to ask him what's going on, but he draws his sword and attacks before she can say anything. Ichigo jumps back again, avoiding his blade.

Again, she shunpos away, landing next to Urahara, her sword drawn at her side. She rounds on him, teeth bared in a snarl. "What the _hell_ is going on Urahara!?"

His eyes narrow, saying nothing as he draws his sword, attacking almost quicker than she can see. Her zanpakuto clashes with his, locking them in a stalemate.

" _Ichigo! Retreat now!"_ Orders Zangetsu, " _We will figure this out at another time, but you must get away now!"_

She surges forward, knocking Urahara off balance before abruptly backing away. Ichigo steps into shunpo again, clutching Aizen to her chest as she speeds past the other captains and out the doors. She's not alone as she leaves, taking to the rooftops again as she avoids her pursuers, Old Byakuya and Yoruichi doggedly on her tail.

Over the whistle of the wind in her ears she can hear an alarm sounding. Shouting echoes up to her from the streets as low level shinigami react to the din. Ichigo can hardly see where she's going at the speed she's running, but she can't stop, not if she expects to get out of this without too much trouble.

Luckily the precision used in building the Seireitei makes it easy to find the outskirts, taller buildings giving away to shorter the further she gets from the center. It allows her to easily keep up the fast pace she's set, but it means her pursuers also have an easy time following her.

She manages to keep a decent amount of distance between her and them, but every inch of it is hard won. Yoruichi wasn't called the Goddess of Flash for nothing and Old Byakuya isn't a slouch either. Even the slightest pause, to check for a lading or try and get her bearings, has them gaining on her.

Ichigo's maybe halfway to the edge of Seireitei when she sees the walls start to fall. One after another they smash into the ground and she's too far away to even dream of slipping under them.

Fuck.

Looks like she'll be smashing her way out, wouldn't be the first time.

With that she shoots to the left, heading toward the gate that's closest. Old Byakuya and Yoruichi follow.

When they notice where she's headed they double their efforts, quickly eating up the distance between them. Ichigo keeps seeing glimpses of Yoruichi from the corner of her eyes. She pushes herself faster and faster, straining to keep away from Yoruichi.

Ichigo's so focused on her that she nearly forgets about Old Byakuya. He'd managed to circle around in front of her, coming at her with his sword drawn. Ichigo barely has time to react, throwing her free arm up to block his attack, her wrist stinging fiercely.

She jumps away just as Yoruichi tries to sweep her feet out from under her, booking it away from them. The gate's just up ahead. She's almost out of Seireitei.

Drawing Zangetsu, she takes a split second to stop and steady her aim, charging a nameless Getsuga along the blade. A single swing, hurling the condensed spiritual energy forward, and she's moving again, racing for the wooden gate.

The reinforced wood shatters, sending splinters and shards flying through the air. Ichigo avoids what she can, but some of it manages to catch her arm and shoulder.

She darts through the open space between Seireitei and the town, but she's not alone. In her distraction Old Byakuya and Yoruichi managed to gain on her again. She weaves around a few stray plus souls before jumping up to the rooftops again. It distances her from them but the advantage is short lived.

The more varied structures in the Rukon make for a more treacherous terrain, unexpectedly tripping her up and slowing her down. Ichigo's struggling to keep ahead of them now.

The three of them blur across the top of the town, stirring a heavy breeze in their wake. They try to cut Ichigo off and send her running back to Seireitei, but she just weaves around them, determinedly heading for the forest.

She comes to the edges of town quickly and from there it's just a straight shot to the forest. Ichigo takes a running leap from the last building she runs across, flying forward and clearing half the distance between her and the forest. When she lands, rolling to release the excess momentum, she takes off as fast as she can and disappears into the trees.

Old Byakuya and Yoruichi tear off after her, and she can hear them behind her, but the forest works to her advantage. Without a clear line of sight they have a harder time keeping up with Ichigo and finally she starts pulling away from them. With another push of speed, she leaves them behind completely.

Ichigo continues in the same direction for a while before she turns sharply to the right, speeding off that way before turning again to double back towards Seireitei. With any luck, she'll have left them heading completely away from her.

When she's maybe a few miles out from Seireitei again she finally lets herself slow down. Panting, she leans against a tree, struggling to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. She keeps an ear out for any nearby dangers, but there's nothing outside a gentle breeze.

She sinks to the ground, back against the tree, zanpakuto to her side, and takes a moment to just breathe. Fuck, it's been a while since she'd moved so fast without her bankai, Ichigo had forgotten how difficult it was. She should probably work on that.

When it feels like her heart won't jump out of her chest she looks down at Aizen, bundled in her lap. He stares back, eyes glassy and about two seconds from crying, his little fist in his mouth. There's a couple of small scratches on his cheek, probably from the gate she destroyed.

Ichigo sighs, carding gentle fingers through his hair. "Sorry about that," She murmurs, "Not much I can do about someone attacking us."

He hiccups, tears spilling down his face, but he doesn't start screaming. She'll take that as a win for now.

Ichigo lets her head fall back against the tree, eyes falling closed. "God, this shit's so messed up."

 _"You have faced worse Ichigo."_

She scoffs. "Doesn't help much Zangetsu. Have you got any idea what's going on?"

 _"Perhaps."_ He says.

 _"This cryptic bullshit's gettin' real fuckin' old, old man."_

Zangetsu doesn't answer.

"I hate to say it Zangetsu, but this time I'm gonna have to agree with Shiro," She makes a face at that. "What do you think's going on?"

 _"I cannot simply tell you what is happening Ichigo, I am not all knowing,"_ Zangetsu says, the barest edge of frustration in his voice. "My _knowledge of the situation is equal to yours."_

"Yeah, but you tend to notice things that I miss."

He sighs. _"I mentioned those two plus souls turned hollow earlier. They very well could have a hand in this."_

Ichigo frowns, shaking her head. "I don't think they do. Last time they took memories, no one in Seireitei was different they just couldn't remember Rukia. This time damn near all the captains were different."

Zangetsu hums, agreeing. _"Urahara was a captain once."_

"Pretty sure that was a long time ago, why would someone go out of their way to make him a captain again? It doesn't make any sense."

 _"I fuckin' told ya it was Aizen,_ " Shiro snarls, _"Ya shoulda killed tha lil fucker when we found 'im."_

"It's _not_ him Shiro!" Ichigo snaps. "How the fuck do you think he pulled this off when he's a _baby_?" She glances pointedly down at him. "What kind of a threat does he pose like _this_?"

 _"Tha fucker fights with illusions! Ya can't trust a fuckin' thing when it comes ta 'im!"_

 _"And when, pray tell, has Aizen ever put himself in a position to appear so vulnerable,"_ Zangetsu asks, voice flat.

 _"I don' fuckin' know, but 'e had tha whole fuckin' Seireitei eaten' outta tha palm a 'is hand for_ years _. Who tha fuck knows what 'e'd do?"_

Ichigo sighs. "That still doesn't tell me why he'd make himself look like this. Vulnerability doesn't seem like something Aizen would even _know_ how to pull off." She looks down at Aizen again, slipping her finger into his little fist and tugging it away from his face. "What would he gain by making me believe that he's helpless, completely harmless?"

Shiro's sullen silence is all the answer she gets.

 _"Aizen may not have done this, but something in his influence might have."_

"You mean the hogyoku?"

 _"Yes. If you would pull it out Ichigo, I wish to test something."_

She tugs her hand away from Aizen and digging through his blanket, finding the hogyoku tucked in a stray fold behind his back. When she pulls it out and looks at it she's faced with the same iridescent marble that she found with Aizen originally. From what she can tell, there's been no change in it.

 _"Now try channeling some of your reiatsu into it."_

Her brow furrows. "Is that really such a good idea?"

 _"If I am right, then there will be no danger."_

"Alright." She says, skeptical. Taking a deep breath Ichigo lets her eyes fall shut as she concentrates. She directs a small amount of her spiritual energy into her hand, trying to push it through her fingertips and into the hogyoku.

Nothing happens.

He hums, thoughtful. _"Try again, use a bit more this time."_

She does, adding more of her reiatsu and attempting to channel it through her hand again. Again, nothing happens. The hogyoku remains completely inert.

Zangetsu sighs. _" We can safely assume that, whatever occurred, it took enough power that the hogyoku is now nothing more than a pretty stone."_

Ichigo stares at it, bewildered. "How is that even possible? Urahara thought it couldn't be destroyed ."

 _"Evidently he was wrong. Do you remember what was happening before you woke up here?"_

She cocks her head to the side, letting her hand drop back to her lap, and thinks back. "We were… we were using Mugetsu, about to attack Aizen with the Final Getsuga. We clashed, there was a flash of light and then nothing. The next thing I remember after that was waking up in the forest."

 _"Your reiatsu was low when you woke, far lower than it has ever been naturally."_ Ichigo nods. " _Whatever Aizen or the hogyoku did took some of our strength as well."_

Her brow furrows. "What could even take that kind of power? Combined Aizen and I probably had the equivalent of a couple hydrogen bombs, hell maybe more."

 _"I do not know."_

She sighs, head falling back against the tree. "What a fucking mess." She sits in silence for a few moments, nothing but the chirping of the evening's first few crickets to keep her company. "What now?"

 _"It is getting late. I think it would be best that you find someplace to rest,"_ Zangetsu says. _"We will figure out our next move in the morning."_

With a groan she heaves herself up, slinging her zanpakuto onto her back and heads further into the forest. Ichigo hopes she can find a more comfortable place to sleep then she had the night before.

* * *

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